The Lordly Blended Whisky

[This product of France is a blend of Scottish and French whiskies finished in Cognac casks.]

Tasting notes:
We start with the stopper.  Because that’s where it all begins.  We approach carefully, like Indiana Jones, with a sand-filled bag in hand just in case.  But when we open her up, it’s the opposite of rolling boulders, poisoned darts, spider webs, and betrayal.  In fact, it may be one of the softest noses I can remember.  Imagine a nursery rhyme sung in hushed notes and accompanied by a mouse whisker-strung lute.  We get lush chrysanthemum, a buttery omelet with herbs de Provence, and Saint Andre triple crème Cheez-Itz for the French expat market.  

The mouth is watery and light and effervescent.  Think of the fluffiness of the world’s fluffiest omelet, but only the fluffiness.  Leave out any thoughts of eggy aspects, just concentrate on the folded fluff and you’ll start to have the idea of the gentleness of this whisky.  But the mildness only lets the quickness and nimbleness surprise you.  Leave it on the tongue a while and more favor profiles emerge.  Citrus, fine Hawaiian sand with faint speckles of pepper, and a farrago of perfumes and misted tinctures complete the mise en scène. 

The finish unfolds like a fully stretched runner emerging from a sauna and ready to set down long strides in a cinder track.  In the race, there is a lemon peel, candied with salt, churning through the final turn.  But when Bill challenges me to name the Cognac whose barrels gave this sweet nectar its final rest, I could only proffer a riddle.  For I told him that if I got the answer right, I De Luze the competition. 

   

Rating:
On the scale of Muppets–

The Lordly Blended Whisky is none other than Sam the Eagle–Bold and principled, perhaps even regal.  Just for Kings, indeed.

   

   

                                                                                      —John

   

   

–Our thanks to Engelstad AS for the sample!